462 comments:

@Sammie323. Lots. Plus he always directs the first episode of the year, as well as the two-part finale. You can find a list of episodes showing, inter alia, the writers and directors of each athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Leverage_episodes

Seriously though, who did you have to hold against the wall in order to get the preview for the finale placed after the final segment instead of before it like was done for Tara's first episode? Remember that?...and then when they re-ran that episode the same preview was still right before the final segment, spoiling the ending. It's awesome that didn't happen tonight--did you have to take steps to prevent that from happening tonight or what?

No questions as yet (I still can't believe Sterling dropped his big, cushy, well paying insurance job to work for Interpol -- then again, if he's using it as a way to get revenge, maybe...) Just love.

1) ST:WoK for the WIN!2) Earworm -- "You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille", for which I blame all of you3) Parker is BORED with jumping off buildings She's really developing new talents and interests.4) Pieces of Nate falling all over the place, oh my dear lord, just EVERYWHERE. Get a broom and a dustpan.5) I really hate that Bennano got shot. 6) Eliot is so OBVIOUSLY Batman it's not funny anymore.7) Nobody pouts like Hardison. That was a full body pout.8) Jeri Ryan -- oh hell, now she has to come back some day. She must.

*Deep Breath*I seriously want to scream now.I just went through the crying and now I want to scream.Loved Eliot as usual,was okay with blowing up the van.Though I pity Hardison,first the offices last season and now Lucille.His precious van.But,I am NOT okay with the FBI on their tails and that Utter BASTARD,STERLING giving them up to the FBI!!And trying to get Nate to flip on the team next week?!!I want to KILL Sterling myself!Can't we have Eliot torture him?Please?So he won't be a problem for the team anymore?!And how long is the wait for s3 going to be?Where in the Summer?

Is there going to be a job where the team doesn't have Hardison to do all the set-up work beforehand? The closest thing I can think of was the Tap Out Job with the fight-ring in... Montana? But will Hardison ever be totally out of the picture; no making up the other's backgrounds, no funny commercials, no costumes? (Does he actually make them himself, or was he joking?) It seems that without his dual tech and arts-and-crafts wizardry, the team would have a heck of a lot harder time.

AWESOME episode, btw. Loved Eliot getting all into being the super-athlete, Parker pretending to be pregnant, and Nate's seething rage.

There was a point, at the end when my heart stopped. I don't know if it was when Nate almost killed Culpepper or when I saw the preview for next week! There is no way Nate will hand over the team!...is there?

I guess my main question is...after four messages wouldn't Sophie pick up. I mean...where is she? I know she's mad at Nate, and I know we're going to find out where she is next week, but...where is she?

Oh, and were you trying to make people scream at their televisions with this episode and the preview? If so, you succeeded in my case.

I must say that I enjoyed your shout out to Spock from Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn. Very nice. Yet again, I salute you.

i have learned that i really need to pay attention to the credits at the beginning because if maybe i had i would have seen that Mark Sheppard would be in this episode and i wouldn't have been surprised to see sterling at the end.

he said it well in SECOND DAVID JOB in season one he is "an utter self-serving b@$+@rd." i really hate this guy. love Mark Sheppard cuz he's so good at being evil but truly hate sterling. he ruins everything.

I have many, many, many ~feelings~ about this episode (they are mostly incoherent, which is why I'm not going to put them here), but, three things:

1. I love Sterling. I was watching it with my mom and brother, and tried to explain him to them, and ended up just saying, "He's Sterling. Everyone hates him. He was Nate's boss. He's like Nate, but evil." Also, you know that he brings up his Official Interpol Status about twenty times a day. As would we all!

2. I also love Parker. She better get something super shiny to steal in the next episode, because a bored Parker is a very bad thing, I am guessing. And I loved her pretending to be pregnant -- my Parker! Acting! I'm so proud of her! And she was sufficiently herself to make it work, which, big props to Beth for that.

I refuse to believe this until Eliot either utilizes a utility belt, acquires a Battle Butler, or sings (the way Batman does in JLA Unlimited to take down Circe... and I think I just acquired five more levels in Geek by employing that reference ohno).

But yes, the resemblance is becoming rather strong, is it not? Even the citizens of Goth- sorry, townspeople are employing the proper hero worship now.

How could you have a bunch of FBI agents on screen without Taggert and McSweeten? The scene lost a lot of the drama because I was too busy scanning the crowd for them. Luckily there was drama to spare.

Next week I have to actually get up on Thursday morning so I can't spend the night calming down like tonight. This is going to be a problem, isn't it?

So Eliot is totally fighting it out with a giant jewel-encrusted bird in the finale, right? Bears -ha! Ornamental birds will KICK YOUR ASS!

Excellent first half to the finale. The set up with the shooting and hospital visit seemed rushed, but I understand you've got time constraints. Good funny stuff with Eliot on the baseball team. Good good stuff with the con and the FBI blazing in and the exit by the seat of their pants.

Is Tara turning on the team there in the end? Hmm. I think Sophie needs to make a re-appearance.

ok this Q is for the last ep, what is the brand of gummy frogs that Hardison was eating? cuz i so gotta get me some, they looked good!

i love Parkers clothes, she always looks so hot! i love that short waisted leather jacket she always wears!

did CK cut his hair? cuz his lil braid was longer then the rest of his hair,i thought he was all OMG they wanna cut my hair dont let em do it, it was even on youtube, but the braid was a whole 1-2 inches longer then the rest of his hair, whats up with that? im not mad about it, im just sayen. . .

LOVED how pissed Hardison was at Nate at the end, and rightfully so. Last year, the offices. This year, Lucille. (And I Do so love that he named her!) Again, he had to sacrifice a part of himself because of Nate's inability to rein in his demons. Am I wrong for wanting to see him smack the shit out of Nate right now?

And Eliot must be starting to twitch, too. He didn't fare so well the last time they went down this road, either.

OMG what a great show. I don't think I have ever loved a tv show as much as I love Leverage. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Okay, now for my question. The team discovered that Culpepper was wired because they were getting feedback. If the feedback was caused by the FBI listening on the same frequency, wouldn't they(the FBI) have been able to hear the team talking to one another?

My iBook is having serious power issues (won't stay charged and shuts down without warning), and I'm not sure it'll stay on long enough to let me download tonight's ep from iTunes tomorrow. If I download it to my iPod, will I be able to transfer it to my computer later?

That episode was fantastic! Each team member got some really good moments and lots of screen time. It was a brilliant choice to have Eliot both not like baseball and not know he was good at it (though, it makes perfect sense, with all his skills, that he would be).

The con seemed a bit more complicated than usual ... well, until Eliot explained it to us. ;-)

And Nate's temper: I loved how it built through the episode, to the point where I totally believed that he not only could strike the mayor, but that he swung with full intent to strike him.

Aw, and you blew up Lucille! The A-Team van! That's why this team can't have anything nice.

I have just one question: how in the hell did you keep Mark Sheppard's guest spot underwraps?

I don't seek out spoilers, but I haven't been avoiding them - I usually hear stuff (esp. on Twitter), but I heard nothing about him being in this episode! That slow reveal of Sterling was just fantastic - you couldn't have come up with a better cliff-hanger. There's no way I'm missing the next episode!

Jeri Ryan really completed the perfect fit into the show, and the team. I wasn't wild about her character at first, and it wasn't just because she wasn't Sophie. But she was word perfect tonight, starting with taking Nate's drink away from him at the beginning of the show.

Nate. Tim. What a performance. Mr. Hutton is awesome. Just a seriously awesome actor. Wow.

YOU KILLED LUCILLE?!?!?

You guys play hardball. Is nothing sacred?

Big love, I mean BIG, BIG love for the team. All of them were absolutely outstanding in this episode.

Others have noted already, and I'll just endorse them wholeheartedly:

Right, Red:

...loving Parker. she pulled off the missed appt scheme, she got the best line: these beans are made of guns. and she gives Lucille a kiss goodbye. and she speaks Spanish.

So true, SueN:

LOVED how pissed Hardison was at Nate at the end, and rightfully so. Last year, the offices. This year, Lucille. (And I Do so love that he named her!) Again, he had to sacrifice a part of himself because of Nate's inability to rein in his demons.

Please be sure to answer Becky:

Which one of you came up with the 'Oh be still my heart, if my heart were in my pants' line?

And much love for Eliot's whole baseball routine, plus the way he picks up Nate's slack when the team leader loses control.

Questions may occur to me later, they usually do, but just wanted to RAVE about the goodness tonight. Can't wait for next week.

I was curious if you guys ever considered doing anything with the Shanghai Tunnels that run under the city. It might be tight to shoot down there but they are an awesome location with a really interesting history. I can totally see them working one of the trap doors into a con.

How ashamed should I be that I instantly recognized the Spock speech Hardison gave? Ashamed, but I shall not apologize! I bet the writers have a fun time finding places to work that stuff in.

I also wanted to commented on Kanes hair, I'm mean seriously, is that the hair/make-up department or is it really just always that bouncy and shiny? The part that stands out the most was when he took his helmet off. Women would kill for hair like that.

I also love that little flip it does at the end. My mom used to spend an hour before bed each night putting her hair up with those big, pink foam curlers and then another hour with a curling iron in the morning to get that effect. Again, is that your hair department or does he just have ridiculously great hair?

Either way I'm still going to picture him at night putting his hair up in big, pink foam curlers because that's just funny.

I love the crumbling of Nate. Tim Hutton is such an amazing actor. I loved him leaving message after message for Sophie. He keeps saying, 'Please call back as soon as possible, the team needs you' when in reality it's HIM that needs her. Oh Nate, why can't you just admit it to yourself and say it out loud to her?

Also, Beth R. is just the perfect Parker. I can't imagine anyone else playing her. The facial expressions, tone and phrasing in her speech are just spot on. I loved her "I get the boring job" *swan dives dramatically off a building* or whatever the line was. It was beautiful.

I could not love this show more. It has everything and it has Christian Kane...which speaks for itself...Love the show...Love EliotOh...and let's not forget his hair. It is AMAZING and ever so sexy and fits him to a T

Loved the Japanese commercial, and while probably a bit too soon (one game after all) to get a sandwich named after him, I liked everyone's reaction to the news.

One nit; when the exterior of the Belbridge City Hall is shown, the Pru tower is very obviously visible in the background, such that it would appear a Belbridge baseball park would be about 1 mile from Fenway, not the best site for a park/team.

In addition to Hardison being p.o.ed with Nate, Eliot's expressions are indicating he's not at all sure Nate's still up for the leadership role. Doesn't look good for next week.

Great ep!! As usual, everyone did an amazing job. I couldn't get to sleep for hours afterwards cause I was so keyed up.

Clearly, Nate is falling apart and it's obvious to every one of them, even Tara, who pulled a Sophie by taking Nate's drink. I'm just wondering about how angry Hardison was over losing Lucille. That must be coming from a much deeper place than just a blown up van. Yes, Nate's drunk again, but he was drunk for most of the first season and no one was this angry. So are there more issues we haven't seen yet that will come out next week and next season?

Is it because Sopie covered for Nate so much before that the team wasn't as aware of what was happening? It seems like Eliot is trying to cover for him now, but perhaps his not being in love with Nate makes it harder for him to be as forgiving as Sophie? Is that part of Sophie's problem, that she feels she was enabling Nate?

And I know this opinion may get me stoned, but picturing Eliot with those pink curlers in his hair at night is not the sexy image I'd like it to be. Maybe taking an inch or two off the bottom would be a good thing at this point.

Ho-lee DAMN. I cannot, off the top of my head, remember an unbroken string of kickass television episodes that compares with the second half of S2 here. Rogers, any time you want to buy your team a round on me, just name a bar and a time.

Speaking of being a Portlander, this may be a stupid question, but were those really the Beavers playing the Beavers, or did you use professional actors?

Either way, it was lovely seeing my beloved city starring so prominently in such a stunning hour of TV, and I'd like to second the congratulations to Eliot on getting a reuben named after him. (Incidentally, best reuben in town is at Otto's deli on SE Woodstock. Just FYI.)

The Leverage Writing Machine keeps cranking them out better and better each time.How sweet was it with Sterling showing up at the end? *woo hoo*Eliot saved his place in my line of favorites when he redeemed himself by "finding" baseball. (Any chance that commercial will make it's way onto youtube?)I do have a question...is the show staying based in "Boston" for s3? If so then I have a question for you...."Nate's" bar is (and I'm guessing) Southie. Guessing that from Nate being Irish and Irish Mob ref's. So you have an Irish pub in Southie (?) and there are no signs/pics of the Red Sox, Celtics or any Boston teams? Come on now......gotta show something.

@adc1966 said... Haven't watched this episode yet, DVR awaits, but one general question: is the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston (aka "The Cheers bar") used for the exterior shots of McRory's? Looks familiar.

5:50 AMNo, not the Bull & Finch...similar in that they are both bars in the basement though.

Is there any chance that we'll see Roy Chappell's commercial on the DVD as an extra? Please please please? (I'm thinking similar to the Fruity Oaty Bar commercial on the Serenity DVD, only without the potential to make teenage girls go nuts. Well, not in a psychotic way anyway.)

Also, I loved the nod to him playing baseball in Portland, too. Nice meta touch.

i just read Kanes top 5 thing he does every week, and seen that he wants to work with Betty White. you guys can so make that happen and have an awesome ep! picture this. . .your going after your bad guy. . . Eliot is fighting this guy, in all black, with a mask on, and Eliot is getting his butt kicked! then Eliot gets ahold of the guy and rips the mask off... and what does he see? his gramma?!?! its Betty White! butt kicking runs in the family! granny got involved in the wrong crowd, and now the Leverage team has to save her from the bad guy! Hee Hee! sorry thats how my brain works, i have all kinds of stuff like that floating around up there!

3 years ag0 – Retrieving a collector’s baseball card in Belgrade, Serbia – took out 8 gunmen, without a gun, whilst sipping a mug of coffee (1×01)..;D Very nice to be "reminded" of that "That's what I do" moment!

Questions:)1. Nate specifically mentioned he hated being in the hospital to Sophie? Would that be because he wants Sophie to find out who Det Bonanno was meeting before they shot him?2. How does Detective Bonanno "know" Nate was behind some of the cases he got called in for?3. Was it Sterling who squelched their ear pieces to expose Culpepper was wired?4. LOL Don't know nothing much about the emotions of baseball fans, but Eliot having a sandwich named after him now..would that make him "Most Valuable Player" or something for the Beavers, for the bad guys too...? So,other times while Eliot keeps The Team safe..who's watching over Eliot now?

I really enjoyed the interaction of EVERYONE on Leverage in this episode. There were many, many "nice" scenes!Nate being angry, drunk or both and the knowing looks among the team - smooth "take-over" by Eliot too - everything was perfect!2 of the best scenes (if I really had to choose):1. Hardison trying to explain the "complicated con" but Eliot doing it in a couple of sentences! It was just so he could have that time to gloat to Nate (to Nate!) on his baseball achievements! Then the handshake on the sandwich! Hilarious !2. I lied! LOL I loved every other scene that went into making The Strikes Job extremely entertaining..gonna watch it again! Waiting patiently for part 2.

Aw, character development for Parker. In the series opener, she hoots with glee as she dives off the roof and resents being forced to work with others. Now diving off a roof is boring and she just wants to play dress-up with the others.

The worst thing for Hardison is that he can't revenge himself on Nate the way he would any other civilian.

I think sometimes people forget we aren't seeing every waking moment the team experiences. Hardison's line about not winning all their cons is a case in point.By far the best ep ever. Loved all the "looks" that were flying around.Eliot's new found love of baseball was fabulous, esp. the scene where he interrupts the meeting to tell them about the sandwich!!!My question...at the end, how did Sterling know to show up at the dock? Hope he and Eliot have some quality face time next week!

Puspa-Couple of answers for ya, I believe. Nate was trying to hide that he was in a bar from Sophie...so he said he was at a hospital. The feedback wasn't Sterling. It was Nate getting too close to the wire the mayor was wearing.As for the detective, I'm not sure about that either!

Elliot beginning to show Hardison some respect, for his areas of compentence, love that, but is he still teaching Parker "physical" skills? And to Hardison too?

Nate's flashing back to his son, when seeing the boy in the hospital, killed me. Now I know why Tim Hutton won an Oscar with Ordinary People....the emotional angst he is going through is gut wrenchingly obvious and his focus on Culpepper as the person who was taking this Father away from the son (reverse of his case) helped keep it together.

Who are the guys importing guns, and if Culpepper is a FBI informant what doesn't the ATF know about this dock? Or is this some kind of double to get the "bigger fish" terrorists.

I'll start with the end of episode (and previews for next week) first .. *gasp* and OMG!

@BethPettit - your comment re Kane's hair Either way I'm still going to picture him at night putting his hair up in big, pink foam curlers because that's just funny. STILL HAS ME GIGGLING .. and I can't get that mental image out of my head. (BTW, I love CK's hair .. and whatever length/style HE wants is FINE BY ME!)

Eliot ..the commercial was FTW (and HIS enjoying the commercial was icing on that cake). I loved the transition from not liking baseball, to not only discovering he's good at it, but also actually getting REALLY into it. Especially enjoying having a sandwich named after him and public recognizing him etc. I get the feeling that because of his line of work, even though he's top-notch and is "known" (and known to be so good) among those that straddle the legal line, he hasn't really received a lot of genuine appreciation for his skills in a long time (or maybe ever), especially when doing something that is more "social."

Nate just keeps sinking more and more .. next week will be interesting (and yes, I'm a bit worried).

Thought it was really cool that Tara just took the drink from Nate's hand and downed it. I can't see any of the others doing that to him, but she can get away with it (different relationship).

No Sophie this week .. or last week .. is this so that an appearance by her in Part 2 of the finale will have more of an impact? Or more driven by Gina's real-life pregnancy?

Love Sterling, but I hope this is the last I see of him for a while. He's a great antagonist, and I would hate to see him overexposed.

Plus, Hardison loves Star Wars, Star Trek, WoW, and baseball. He sounds like every computer geek I know. Is he a comics fan too (considering the showrunner, at least one of the team has to be)? Or is that up to Aldis?

Also, will we see the true20 stats of the other characters on the show?

Nice use of Kane's Summer Catch baseball skills. Seeing Eliot discover a new (and benign) extension of his talent for hitting things was so much fun. (Also, props for him being a hockey fan. Makes total sense.) My rhetorical question -- Is there anything that man can't do?

Awesome episode. Loved seeing Stirling again. And that Japanese commercial was just....there are no words for how awesome that commercial was. It goes to show that everything gets better if you add Japanese shows or commercials. Will it be on the DVD's? And will the DVD's be available in Region 2 format soon?

This was amazing, I dare say better than the season 1 part 1 finale. Loved how Eliot went from hating baseball to not being able to shut up - don't think he's said that much all season! And Tara taking the drink from Nate and downing it herself was awesome. The commercial was hilarious, and all the jibes in between.

One question...Lucille? Really? Who came up with that? I would have thought Betty or Bob would have been better...leave it up to Hardison to come up with that one.

Also, the baseballs that Eliot hit....did Christian hit those, or were they edited in? (in the cage)

I was not prepared for Sterling at all! I literally jumped out of my seat when I heard his voice. And interpol......so funneh.

Ok have to say it this was 6 kinds of amazing. Eliot/Christian was adorable. Seeing him squee was just great. I really truly want a copy of his commercial just because it was that funny. Very well written and directed. Loved all the interactions, especially at the end. Hardison crying for Lucille was brilliant. As for Sterling, he really is a particular kind of bastard isn't he? Thank you for this wonderful episode. Can't wait for next week!

Glad I'm not the only one who thought of the Fruity Oaty Bar. Other Eliot gems: the way he wants to see the commercial again, the way the light bulb goes off over his head when he hit a baseball for the first time, his excitement at having a sandwich named after "him."

I would love to see on the DVD: Eliot's commercial, outtakes from Eliot and Hardison filming the commercial, and a tutorial on how to make the Roy Chappell sandwich.

And how Kane gets such great hair. Did anyone have any idea that his hair would get such fan mail?

Firstly, I am a huge fan/addict in the UK who has to watch these new ones online. This one had a crappy connection and it took me 2 hours to watch as the signal or whatever was not good.

My quesions:

1 - what is the timeline for these episodes (ie how long has Tara been with them/Sophie been away)? The bottle job had snow (so would appear to be winter) but looking on google for confirmation I read that the baseball season runs from April to October over there. So, was there snow in Feb/March and then the baseball season started or what? Really anal I know, but if there was some time between them it would explain how Tara is now working better with the team

2 - How long does it take the hairdressers to straighten CK's hair each time. I would kill for hair like that (or just to run my hands through his - down girl) but why does he not wear it naturally on the show?

Loved this episode and totally did not see Sterling coming at the end. Cant wait for next weeks episode even if i again have to watch in 3 second stop/starts.

Dear God that was fun! Just what I needed on a crappy day and, yep, had me taking your name in vain, Rogers. Sorry about that.

Question for you about swearing on the show. What are the standards you have to/try to keep to? Given the number of times we've heard "Son of a..." and the like, Hardison's "Kiss my ass" stood out for me. Is that something you have to "save for" (one swear per season) or am I just being weirdly attentive?

@ wah-keecha - Thanks for that. I woke up to see I could download two episodes on my subscription and I wasn't sure what was up. It should be waiting for me when I get home.

Great episode. I was excited enough seeing Richard Kind and Paul Blackthorne and great performances by all the regular(ish) cast, but the reveal of Sterling at the end was a shock of awesomeness to me.

In the ask a silly question category:1. During the fundraiser, Mayor (Kind) moves the balloons as Tara and Nate stand up. Was that supposed to mean something deeper? Or was that just ad lib because the prop was in the way of their sightlines when they filmed?

2. I remember Tara noticing "Lucille" smelled, but was there more to the story/that a longer running gag? Poor Hardison. (Still shouldn't pout when half the FBI is immediately behind you though).

Finally...Any ETA for the Season Two DVDs? We're going to be going into withdrawal after next week and those Season One ones may wear out. Also, do you know if these will be subtitled/closed captioned?

I swear I wanted to kill the reviewer and all those who commented that Leverage is 1) a rip-off and/or 2) a poor cousin of Hustle. Hustle --> con for personal gain. Leverage --> con for justice. Only similarity is the word "con". Sheesh!

Now the question: have you (and the rest of the cast/crew) had to defend Leverage vehemently whenever people say that you're copying Hustle? What do you say to them?

Why does Hardison suggest again that they let the cops handle this right after he presumably looks up Culpepper? A local mayor shouldn't be that scary. Does he know something he's not sharing with the team?

Loved the ep. I was completely shocked to see Sterling in the end but LOVED IT . Nate's seriously going over the edge, the guys can see it but are sticking with him. Why wouldn't Sophie pick up the phone!!! He was pourig his heart out i his own special way. I can't wait to see what happens next week.

I WANT the power drink Commercial!!!:) to funny,and a Ray Chappel baseball card while I'm begging.

I really expected to hear a heavenly choir singing when Eliot hit the first ball in the batting cage, the look on his face was almost like...hey I can hit more than people with this thing.

Okay are we sure that Eliot/Chris is Batman.... See I'm wondering if Superman would be a better fit. Clark Kent..Christian Kane.. The Intials Work. He wears glasses when under cover, and he's a country boy.

John Rogers - I salute you, sir! Together, you and Dean Devlin make magic every time. That said, I ended up screaming "OH SHIT!" when Sterling shows up. I should have known....I really should have but I got caught up in the con and having him show up was a slap in the face.

the team has protected [Sterling's] old job, gotten him a new one, and made him an international news hero. Shouldn't he help them out?

No, he should use them, because they're useful (and expendable). That's Sterling. Gratitude is for non-self-serving-utter-bastards. To which I say: \o/

"I don't like any sport you can't score on defense"? NICE. I can't decide whether that was perfect or a little too on the nose, but I'm leaning toward the former. Either way, you spoil us, sir. (And for balancing it with the epiphany in the batting cage. The very abstract and the very concrete, both reflecting their sides of Eliot, was totally satisfying.)

Also, the drinking game definitely needs to include the lampshades. I'm just sayin'. They have become one of my favourite "details to watch for in each ep".

And as the others say, thanks for having Hardison call Nate out on his crap. Time it was said! The S1 finale(s) cost Eliot a broken rib, Hardison his "masterpiece" set up at the offices, and Parker got caught. Thanks for not blowing up Nate's appartment (yet). This is going to be interesting, isn't it.

Jeez, 96 comments in 24 hours. I'll count myself lucky if you get this far, Rogers.

First, my actual QUESTION: I want to second Sherri's query about why Sterling gave up his very lucrative job and corner office at IYS. I've been meaning to ask this since "Zanzibar." He obviously worked his ass off and stabbed several colleagues in the back to get there. Plus he's got to be giving up oodles of money. There's no way that Interpol can come close to matching what he's getting...at least monetarily. So what does Sterling want so badly that being in Interpol gives him? Or will we find that out next week?

Now some layman's speculations. To all of the people who are wondering why Sophie was not picking up her phone, I kinda got the impression that (mildly drunk)Nate left all five of those messages in the space of like ten minutes. She could have simply not not gotten any of them, yet. On the other hand, she might have recognized that Nate was drunk-dialing her and decided that she wasn't going to talk to him in that state.

Finally, an observation. I find it interesting that no one else has brought up Nate's comment about taking down a corrupt mayor being "the biggest thing we've ever done." Because...it ain't. Just off the top of my head, in The Homecoming Job they exposed a scheme to steal (at least) hundreds of millions of dollars and took down a corrupt U.S. Senator and the CEO of Blac...uhm, Castleman Security. In the grand scheme of things that's got to be bigger. Of course, that was deliberate on the writer's part. Taking down Cullpepper is only bigger in Nate's eye's and that's because of Bonanno and his son. Nate thinks that if he can bring down Cullpepper for the attack on Bonanno, he might just be able to fill up that hole in his soul. The one that was ripped out when his son died and that he's been poring liquor into in a vain attempt to fill it. Unfortunately for Nate, neither revenge nor anything else on Earth is going to fill up that hole. If he's lucky, he'll learn to live with it being there. If he's very lucky, he'll build up his life and personal relationships to the point where his soul grows enough that the hole won't take up as large a portion of his metaphysical real estate...and I've pushed that metaphor a little further than was wise.

Oh, and a final QUESTION: Just what does "IYS" stand for? I've always assumed that (in the writer's room at least), it stood for "Insure Your Sh*t."

Eliot doesn't have a Superman/Clark Kent viewpoint. Superman's world is very black/white (or four color), very self-sacrifice for the greater good, true blue hero, high ideals, belief in ultimate good and all that. Also, he does things well because he's physically "super".

Batman lives a shades of grey, control the violence, do what has to be done even if it's dirty, ends justify the means, personal code existence. He's a little (a lot, depending on which version and how you look at it) off the center of sanity, or maybe it's the world that is crazy. He does things well because he works really hard at it and has skills/tools.

Batman is a LOT closer to Eliot. I think one version of Bruce Wayne (the first movie, Michael Keaton version maybe?) wore glasses. Plus, it's been pointed out that Eliot mostly wears the glasses when he's on the con -- it's a disguise, a way of making people underestimate him, a trick to look weak and harmless -- until he turns them into lethal weapons. He doesn't even need the utility belt -- give him a multi-tool and his 'improvise weapons' skill comes into play.

He's Batman. :)

(grrrr...Blogger's comment editor is FUCKING with me. Pardon, but I am irritated.)

It strikes me that Sterling is all about power + ego/prestige and less about the cash - at least entering his own pocket. While the later is likely a very nice side dish on his menu to be sure, it's entirely possible that through his last position he's already got enough in the bank to make himself very comfortable. With that consideration, there's very little that can service those first two in the same way as being part of an "Elite" crime fighting unit with ~world wide purview in which to demonstrate his superiority.

I have been looking forward to this episode ever since Christian's excited tweets about playing "In a real f&^%ing minor league game!".

And it didn't disappoint, in fact I think this is my favorite episode so far. Everything was just right, from Parker's 'no fun' to Tara's amusement at the sandwich, Hardison's dismay and anger over Lucile, and Nate going of the rails.

Eliot's dislike for Baseball and his discovery that he was good at it was just genius Thank You to whoever came up with that. The fact that Christian loves, and is pretty good at, the game makes it even better. The hair was magnificent this episode. He should have it natural, not straightened, next season it looks better and it saves time in the morning :)

Loved that everyone had a big, and equal, part to play in this one. I feel that has sometimes been lacking in earlier episodes. I know it's hard to give 5 people with (almost) equal billing stuff to do every episode but is that getting easier now you know the characters better? And has there been a time while you were filming the episode where you thought the script wasn't going to work?

Speaking about filming, I know it's starting pretty soon (March?), I adored the behind the scenes videos you released in the TNT site during (or before) the first season, any change of more like that for the third season?

Utterly off the wall question here. On the crime scene Tech badges, who was the photo of that Eliot was wearing? Pausing and getting very close to the screen only made me sure that it wasn't a photo of him..

Question from me:)Did Parker swoop in and get the "money on the barrel out?" The Mayor, Nate and Tara all came out from different exit points, and none of them were holding the "money bag!"Thank you for an exciting episode!Oh and I still think it was Sterling who crossed their frequency! Something from the Zanzibar Market Place..may be?

I tam probably the only who suspects people are not seeing the real Sterling. I suspect there is much more to him and his story then we know. After all, at one time he and Nate were the best of friends ...

Oh yes. There is much more to Sterling and this gives us plenty of opportunities in the upcoming episodes. Not only were they friends, Nate was just as much of a threat to the team when they were on their own as Sterling was. Nate's no saint and Sterling's not exactly the devil.

Second time poster long time lurker. ;) This ep represents so much that I like about this show - great funny stuff, great action stuff, cool cons. BUT more importantly, you also bother to develop characters and then actually use the characters' authentic motivations instead of just cheap plot tricks to drive the narrative.

I love the fact that Nate is spiraling because he sees himself in Bonnano - especially clear the "son" rant when he almost brained the mayor but also with Nate's line (paraphrasing) that Bonnano "spent his whole life trying to do the right thing, and this is what he gets? His family's pain?" That is so Nate. That added such a great layer to the episode.

Questions:1) You've said Nate is an addict in many ways, and clearly, there's an aspect of comitting these crimes that he's addicted to, even if he won't admit it. Is it just that "geting even" fills his angry place or is it also the thrill of the con? I'm sure I know the answer, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on that issue.

2) Did Tara really not care if Nate killed the mayor in the end or was she just playing Nate a little to get him out of his angry haze?

Oh, yeah. There's plenty to Sterling. My own fevered imagination of the fangirl moments have me imagining (with very little evidence, and that circumstantial - the best kind for this type of theory) that he has a thing for Maggie. Entirely unrequited, of course, possibly even unnoticed by her; and, being the ruthless pragmatist that he is, I imagine he knows good and well how useless it is, and squelches it as much as possible.

Still, that's what's playing in my mind in episodes where it's relevant, in an "I have absolutely nothing to substantiate this except for one or two very-open-to-interpretation moments" kind of way. Puts an interesting flavour to his relationship with Nate, too, which I doubt was ever "best of friends". Friendly, maybe; anchored by respect for the other's abilities, definitely.

As soon as the camera revealed a grim-faced and laconically British-accented Paul Blackthorne I realized that Mr. Mayor, while dirty, was NOT the big bad pulling the strings.

During the commercial break after Eliot revealed the note page, I wrote this prediction: "In this episode, the team is going to take out Mr. Mayor, only to have everything fall apart and go completely to Hell when they realize that the real man behind the curtain is in fact Blackthorne, who of course, is the Kirsch of Kirsch Industries. And next episode the team has to fall back and struggle to regroup and come up with a new plan – while attempting massive damage control on Nate’s self-inflicted implosion. (Oh, and with references to waterfronts, I’m guessing the “Maltese Falcon” is either a smuggling ship or a code phrase indicating that certain items being shipped by Kirsch Industries are not in fact what they appear to be, but something highly valuable and illegal.)"

I only point this out because, while in most shows I can guess the outcome from early on, YOU and your team, Mr. Rogers, have completely and utterly SNOOKERED me time and time again.

When and if I do figure out what's going on, it is usually only moments (seconds really) before the big reveal, so it barely counts.

So, I'm proud of myself for guessing a little bit, even if it was based on outside knowledge (i.e. the title of the finale and recognizing Blackthorne) - I have to take whatever I can!

Besides, I'd NEVER have guessed that Sterling would appear!

Questions:

I think this is the first time Nate has felt compelled to expound on / explain his "let's go steal ..." expression. Am I right? Yet another symptom that he is slipping?

The little boy on the hospital bench looked SO much like Sam, - combine that with his lack of mobility and Mrs. Bonnano ignoring his presence - was he actually there or was Nate hallucinating again?

Somebody else asked why you had FBI agents without including Taggert and McSweeten - am I right in assuming this is because IF those two were present our team would actually have a decent chance of possibly fixing everything?

Oh yeah, and also because, apparently these FBI agents are part of some special task force, if I heard the lead agent correctly?

Speaking of her, she's going to reoccur, right? Character made an impact in the brief moments she was onscreen.

Actually, in the last few minutes of the episode I was thinking "I hope we'll be seeing more of Special Agent Amy Mevins. I'd like her to become sort of the team's own personal - oh. Never mind."

In case you couldn't tell, that "-oh. Never mind." marks where Jim-Sterling-Interpol (and-awesome-yet-self-serving-and-utter-bastard) made his appearance.

The team doesn't really need any other reoccurring foils or antagonists as long as HE's around, huh?

Love the cliffhanger ending, reminds me a lot of Doctor Who. Which reminds me, (spoiler alert) if they ever bring back the Master they should have him played by Mark Sheppard, cause he does a hell of a job playing Sterling's master to Nate's doctor.

Kudos to you and TNT for managing to keep Sterling's appearance in the last episode a secret.Makes me curious though, because I follow filming on Twitter I knew Mark Sheppard would be back this season. Were the promos spoiling his and Maggie's return in Zanzibar meant to keep us from suspecting he would be back in the final? I was pretty annoyed at them at the time but if that was deliberate it was very well played.

Also I'm wondering which plot was completed first. Was he in Zanzibar because you needed a way to get him into Interpol for 'The Maltese Falcon'?

The fact that there's only one episode left and so much to resolve does make me worry that this season is going to end on a huge cliffhanger. But you wouldn't do that to us, would you?

I loved Eliot's realization that baseball was a game in which you hit things with a great big stick, and thus more worthy of his time than he suspected. (Was his clobbering of the ball Mr. Kane, or CGI? At this point, I begin to believe that Christian Kane can do just about anything.)

Also: Not especially tall, a devil with the ladies, supremely good at fighting, freakish healing factor, and a country-boy facade concealing hidden depths of globetrotting urbanity? Eliot isn't Batman. The dude is Wolverine.

Loved the death of Lucille. (Also a nod to B.B. King's guitar, yes?) Loved Mr. Devlin's astute choice to "tremble" the camera during the later conversation scene at McRory's, conveying how Nate has obviously lost control, and the group's trust. And of course, I really loved that final reveal. Magnificent amoral bastards who are always one step ahead of the heroes make the very best villains.

Love the - great to have something to watch that the whole family (my 10yr. old daughter LOVES Parker) can enjoy.

I especially love the little tiny gestures that are so subtle you almost miss them, but speak volumes about the characters and their relationships.

Case in Point - Parker kissing the van after they loaded it with explosives. My question is- was that written in the script, or did Beth come up with that on her own? It was so perfect, and so Parker- like to sympathize with Hardison!!

Wasn't there a Marvel/DC universe showdown mini-series of comics, like, a decade ago? (There may have been more, I'm very sporadic in my dipping into this stuff.) I distinctly remember a full-page spread of an imagined melding of the two universes in which characters from each were melded together. Wolverine and Batman were mooshed into one. Is there any canon on either of them being a singer? Just sayin'. Bub.

Yeah, so, the nebulous question floating around the back of my mind finally made it to the forefront. Does Beth speak Spanish? Is that how that part got in there, or was she using Gina's former language coach?

I can't help but watch Nate disintergrate, and thinking to myself. "Oh dear. Phillipe has left the cage."

Also: Eliot is not Batman. Batman has FOUGHT a bear. More than one actually.

Also Also: Someone downthread said it, and I think it's probably right. I think Nate is going to jail. And that when he gets out, he's going to be sober and a cold sonofabitch. And that he's probably going to blame Sofie for being away when he needed her most.

1. Which is Kane's natural hair, 'cause if its the curls I'm going to cry with jealousy.2. Damn you, I'm now extremely fond of Tara.3. The first ten minutes or so were really painful to watch. 4. Fruity Oat bars, yeah.5. You guys don't suck.

What are the odds of us getting Season 2 on Blu-Ray instead of (or as well as) DVD? I like shiny things, cater to my shiny needs. (If not, I'll just buy it on DVD. I keep hooking new people by loaning out Season 1...)

Re: the Sterling goes Interpol discussion. As someone up above (Dave, maybe?) said, I can very much see it as a power/ego thing. Sterling likes being the bad-ass in charge, and giving hhim a badge definitely enhances that.

But I also wonder if it's because he knows being with Interpol will only give him a much bigger platform from which to go after our team. As an insurance investigator, he pretty much has to wait until they hit somebody insured by IYS. But as an Interpol agent, he's got a much broader mandate. And I think he'd welcome any chance to take them down. Because while Sterling never loses, neither do Nate & Co., and Sterling's just GOT to hate that.

And re: the no Taggert and McSweeten with the FBI. Am I right in suspecting having them there would have seriously altered the tone? After all, they're the fumbling fibbies, while the ones outside that warehouse were dangerously competent. T&M would *not* have inspired the kind of fear in the team that those agents obviously did, and we would not still be hanging off the edges of our seats worrying about what happens next.

Well, Dean Devlin calls me "Wolverine," he does it all the time. Because I heal really fast --

Question:)1.Was the actor playing one of the gunmen who shot up Bonanno the same as Sterling's "former" henchman in the First David? The lighting and dark spots made it difficult, but he looked pretty similar to erm, what's his name Alex Carter I think?!2.Maltese FAlcon was spelt like that!..aaargh!! What? LOL...3.May be I imagined it, that the "Maltese FAlcon" actually meant something *more* to Eliot, but it wasn't coming to him..just yet!

The gummifrogs are from HARIBO, a german company that is just around the corner(literally)from where I li... errrhhh...never mind .....forgot that this side of the atlantic has to wait till fall, to even know Leverage...so I don't know what we were talking about....

wow, and I mean WOOOOW, what an ep. feeled like watching a movie. Kudos to the whole team.My fav scene was (like always) Eliot, discovering that hitting a Baseball is actually 'hitting' something, and the commercial, great. Poor Hardison, his beloved van, well at least the smell should be gone by now, or it smells like burnt cabage...who knows...a lil paint ,new tires, and it will be as good as new....almost...lookin' forward to the next ep, even if that means this season is over* crying a lil on MY special Leverage place*Just wanna say great job, keep going, we wait patiently 'til summer and the next season, not that we've much of a choice...

did anyone else think that our team would be better of if Eliot would've toss Sterling out of a window back there in 'Zansibar Job'? He might never lose, but wining HAS to hurt him just a lil' more, maybe we could have Eliot beat him up again, just a 'lil bit,? PLEEEEAAAZZZ???And I still wont trust Tara, I'm literally waiting for it, that she'll flip on our guys....

So, I know you will hate me for that Mr. Rogers, but how's about havin' Eliot rapell or jump from a building, in S3? Or let him use a twirlingbaton, have seen him doin a 'lil fingertwirl in 'Beantown' and I'm pretty sure he could beat up sth with that too... just sayin...

The team tend to detonate stuff that's important to them in finales, don't they? Not that anyone except Hardison is mourning for Lucille like they did the old digs, it's a bit smaller in scale. I am a big fan of Stuff Blowing Up, though, so all's good. Loved the commercial and the ST ref.

Nate is really just barely holding it together, isn't he? I really hope he gets chewed out (some more).

Wolverine would never allow himself to be 'coached' through chatting up a woman (The Stock Job). And Wolverine would not have managed controlling his fury when his sexuality was misrepresented to a woman he was trying to charm (The 12-Step Job).

In fact, anger control isn't exactly a Wolverine characteristic...

As for hair -- we can't count physical factors, because (at least so far) Eliot has yet to produce adamantium claws, and I think Eliot has a better chance of getting a utility belt than built in claws ;)

Also, I'll see your comics geek-out and raise you a fandom geek-out. Having spent more time lurking (and laughing) at various fandom circles, it occurred to me to ask: if having fanfic/speculation screwed to hell by the show is being Jossed and having it confirmed/incorporated is being Kripked ... is having questions and concerns directly answered being Rogered?

While this wasn't actually unexpected I have to love the guy (or the dummy) you used when Eliot 'tagged' the guy trying to make for home... the extra couple of beats that you see him there *not moving* on the mound... made me laugh.

I love the fact that while we mostly notice it with Parker, everyone is learning a little of everyone elses skill sets so that they all become better at what they do. Though they still treat Parker as if shes the younger sister needing protection/help with things. Its sweet, but Id love to see those tables turned in S03 more often, shes got mad skillz that should be passed on (well as much as Parker would want them passed on) to the other teammembers.

Can't wait for the Season Ender, and am glad that we already KNOW there is a season 3 coming through.

If Eliot doesn't like baseball then he made a very odd reference to baseball in the Top Hat Job "You left that out there like a hanging curve ball". People don't tend to reference sports they are not fans of. Pretty sloppy effort. I hope that the bible/script coordinator dosn't get shot.

I hate baseball. I'm not even American. But baseball references are entrenched in the vernacular, and as a sports fan, even more so.

It's clear that Eliot didn't dislike baseball on a whim--humour was to be generated from the fact that he obviously knew the details of the game very well. He's definitely given it enough thought to toss it out on the "no scoring on defense" basis (very good point--I totally dig it. Let's not get into why I don't like American football). So having all those facts to hand make it even more likely that the terms would pop up in his conversation.

It's really not far-fetched at all.

Unrelated to this episode, I noticed on a rewatch of The Ice Man Job that Hardison has the little UV flashlight there (it's what he uses to read the invisible combination Parker leaves for him). So the team's depended on him just having one around before The Zanzibar Job.

1) I didn't get this until Lucille was almost gone, but she was definitely named after BB's guitar, right?

2) Was Hardison just so upset at losing Lucille that he got the Trek 2 quote wrong? BTW my favorite line from that bit was "Y'all do know she's under warranty, right?"

3) During Nate's initial rant to the crew while explaining the mark to go after, I felt strongly that his exclamation, "I'M NOT A THIEF!!!" was something he said because he honestly sees a clear line between what they are doing and what the people they go after do, or the old, "it's not murder if they deserve it" line the Catholic Church has been using for so long.

Kudos for getting so much of the baseball stuff on the money, including the "had a cup of coffee" line; my husband the diehard fan appreciated that, but he did not believe Eliot would be able to play in the minors on his first try. I love Eliot too, but I found his hit on the runner coming home a lot more believable than his "hitting," i.e. batting. BTW, that was a major guffaw moment for me, topped only by the Spock quote from Hardison.

And, I was totally snookered to find out the dirty Mayor was an FBI snitch. Good on ya there.

I always have to watch the ep a second time to get over the 'newness' and think of comments/questions, so I'm a little late to the game. Most of my questions have already been asked... like, what did Hardison see in the original casefile that spooked him?...

Also what's the deal with Sterling & Interpol, he seems to have a pretty loose leash for being a rookie agent, or do they have a habit of letting their noobs pursue their own personal vendettas?

And of course the veritable WTF about CK's hair - The Runway Job, sure it made sense, but baseball players don't have perfect, pretty hair - even Damon's was perpetually frizzy.

Also in regards to the contention over the Star Trek quote - ya'll are forgetting the *new* Star Trek, with future Spock. Hardison's parting line to Lucille was from THAT one, not Wrath of Khan.

"You smell soup?" Every ep has a line that we wind up quoting for weeks... this is the one for this week.

Lastly, props to Blackthorne as a guest, I miss seeing him on TV since The Dresden Files got axed. And I'm with the folks that think he's the man pulling the mayor's strings... although I couldn't place his accent. (Ukrainian? I know how much you guys like Ukrainians... ) Can't wait to see how this plays out!

It's clear that Eliot didn't dislike baseball on a whim--humour was to be generated from the fact that he obviously knew the details of the game very well. He's definitely given it enough thought to toss it out on the "no scoring on defense" basis (very good point--ita said...

The second Eliot launched into "only ONE PROBLEM..I don't like baseball!!" I got flashback of the pilot ep where Eliot had to "retrieve" a baseball card by (unfortunately?) "disposing" of at least 8 other armed guys?!Yeah ALL with guns too ;D Another major point would be Eliot DOESN'T own a TV?..so IMO, hmm this guy "learns" or soaks up facts from background checks and recon work he has to do BEFORE he actually does the "work"- that's what he does - and this makes Eliot the awesome/effective retrieval he's turned out to be..Nate respects Eliot completely for his high competency level too:)

THIS. While Sterling's clearly the antagonist to our team, he's actually one of the Good Guys, right? I mean, he didn't join Interpol to be a corrupt bastard, i would imagine, but instead because he's chasing a criminal. Doesn't he think he's doing the right thing?

Nina May, we can geek out in the corner. I'll bring my jars of dice dug from the giant Chessex bin at far too many conventions. You bring the GM bribe mix.

And yes, I have my favorite dice in separate little boxes because shiny iridescent purple acrylic is MAGIC!

And I COMPLETELY agree that we should call this lovely, convoluted, and torturous process of posting questions and waiting somewhat patiently for the answers as being Rogered. Or, perhaps we should give it a finer shade and say having Leverage questions answered in such a way as to not give up too much information and spoil the magic, yet still fill in enough stuff to keep all our various geek facets happy as being Rogered.

I'm sure there's more nuance to be added. I'm addled. I spent 10 hours on a closed highway last night because people in Georgia fear the possibility of SNOW.

It'll be the geekcorner of awesomesauce and thread-jacking. Who's ordering pizza?

Seriously, it never mattered how lucky a die was, the moment it left my hand it went half Iago, half Fu Manchu, all BASTARD. (And if you get that reference, I'll give you a cookie. A very surprised and pleasantly pleased cookie.)

And, because geeks everywhere need to laugh uncontrollably loud, late at night, disturbing their parter/flatmates/neighbours/pets, and because this just deserves to be epically pimped, I direct you to just about the most extraordinary internet social singularity I've ever seen. If you haven't already seen it, the gold is in the comments. The warning in bold, a few paragraphs into the article, was not originally there. But it doesn't seem to have helped.

I just cracked the latest TV Guide and page 36 has a little teaser/semi-spoiler for the Season Finale. I won't repeat the whole thing, but...

"...because we're all gonna have to wait until the show returns this summer to learn just how this job plays out..."[insert high tension dramatic music here]

A CLIFF HANGER??? Can it BE? Is it TRUE? And what could that unanswered "question" be? I mean, we know there's a season 3 so we can assume that the team will continue doing what they do, but...are we all going to have our collective chain jerked?

Seriously, I hate end-of-season cliff hangers. My inevitable response to being made to wait a long time for "what happens next?" is "I don't care anymore." Please, please, PLEASE don't let something like this ruin Leverage.

I'm hoping that TV Guide misinterpreted something or slanted/skewed things to make the blurb more of what ever they thought it needed to be more of. Please let it be journalistic fervor and not something dreadful...

Dude, you know it's too late already. That shit's already in the can. But I agree, it sucks.

Rogers, I thought I saw you say somewhere that *you* hate season finale cliffhangers, too. No?

I mean, we're coming back. You know we wouldn't miss it for anything. It's not necessary to pull this shit to get us back. And it's not like that gag gets you new viewers, right?

Could backfire, too, if it builds resentment among the fan base. So, fair warning: If you think you've got a lot of comments to deal with now, it ain't nothing compared to next week if we get stuck with a cliffhanger. And then I will finally make my way to the TNT forum, wherever the hell that is, and make my displeasure known. I'm sure many others will, as well.

In retrospect, maybe this is something that should've been polled way in advance.

This is a "Question Post" right?;)Please post some observations/suspicions even, regarding an episode - BUT please follow that up with *a* legitimate question(s)..You're only "adding" to the amount of "comments" that Mr Rogers has to sieve through to get to answering the "real" question(s) put out here by OTHER fans of Leverage;D

Observation:If every comment here had a question tacked on to the end to justify it being in a "Question Post", Rogers would hav a hell of a lot bigger job to do trying to get through filtering and answering them.

Suspicion:You can often ID an "anonymous" commenter from their syntax. It's a very distinctive syntax.

This episode was truly worthy of being a major finale. The only bad part? It leaves you wanting more Leverage right away! ...“The Maltese Falcon Job” is one of the best episodes of Leverage. (That’s not the only reason this episode is named that, though!..(small screen scoop)

Sherri said..."Seriously, I hate end-of-season cliff hangers. My inevitable response to being made to wait a long time for "what happens next?" is "I don't care anymore." Please, please, PLEASE don't let something like this ruin Leverage"

Compare:"It leaves you wanting more Leverage right away" (ssscoop)With TV Guide version below:"...because we're all gonna have to wait until the show returns this summer to learn just how this job plays out..." TV Guide's "teaser/spoiler" seem to suggest that the Leverage con wasn't concluded/successful? But for me if the team blows (enemy) s*** up - and "scatters" after that..that's awesome..but yes it'll leave me wanting more!;D

Question: :)

Why was Hardison so pissed on Eliot, about blowing up the van? I remember only Sophie's "whiffy" remark and then Tara going that something definitely smelt (bad) in there! No big deal, just curious;D

Um, no, actually, this is not a "question" post. This is a "post game" post. These here are "comments". See there, over the little box? It says, "Leave your comment". That's what we're doing...with or without questions. We are providing valuable feedback to the head writer/showrunner, regardless of whether we have a question.

Besides, did you see him specifically restrict this to questions in the actual blog post? No, you did not. If I recall correctly, this particular post said something to the effect of, "Leave your name and number after the beep."

@ itano offense but, if Eliots dislike in baseball should mean he doesn't know about it, how would you explain his knowledge with guns and firearms in general?He said many times that he don't like guns, to dislike sth in particular doesn't mean, 'not' to know about it, right?just sayin'...

I don't think you're pointing that comment at the right person. I have no problem with him knowing a lot about baseball--I'm explaining that's only one reason he might use baseball terms in daily conversation.

I think it's great for people to know a lot about what they don't like. What better ammunition can you ask for? Even though, he got that one bit more information, and it made all the difference in the world.

Who knows, though, if it will start being fun to watch? That might not change.

I just watched this episode for the 3rd time and it's still sooo interesting and exciting!I'd like to ask about something. Why did the task force Special Agent Amy Nivens not pursue the Leverage Team?She was aware that she had been conned. She was also aware that, they were using her "official car" to getaway too LOL - but this scene was very well done and full of humor.

THIS. While Sterling's clearly the antagonist to our team, he's actually one of the Good Guys, right? I mean, he didn't join Interpol to be a corrupt bastard, i would imagine, but instead because he's chasing a criminal. Doesn't he think he's doing the right thing?

EXACTLY!!!!

One thing that occurs to me. No matter how this ends, the team will have to be moving. Again. Which is a pity, I rather like this location.

Most of my questions have already been asked... like, what did Hardison see in the original casefile that spooked him?... Jen said...

My guess is it's got something to do with Eliot's past?

1. Kadjic could be...2. From CROATIA...3. Eliot has "helped LIBERATE Croatia"...(in his own distinctive style!)4 Eliot has told this to Hardison (TWJ)- It could be like the run in with The Butcher from Kiev moment..Awesome fight scene, again?!5. Eliot feels like the hidden note "Maltese FAlcon" should mean something..but he's not recalling, just yet.

I love this show. I haven't been this invested in a show since...well NEVER. This episode, in particular, was stellar from the first second to the last. I LOVED the "hostages" all being released at once. That FBI chick is a keeper. She was stone cold. And once again, Tim Hutton shows why he has an Oscar. Frickin' brilliant. Just love him.

This show just rocked. And I continue to be majorly jealous of Chrisitan Kane's hair.

Observation: Was the number that Eliot wore (#2 I think) a shoutout to CK's role in Summer Catch? Loved all of the baseball stuff. That home plate tag-out looked rough. Kudos.

Question: Is it possible that Sterling is going to be coming around in season 3 to hire our team to occasionally work for Interpol? And are we going to be seeing more international "jobs"? That would take the show in a new direction and make the jobs stakes more risky. And it would also be very cool.

Thank you to cast, crew, TNT, and everyone else for such an amazing job. Can't wait until the finale.

I'm really hoping that Sterling is on their side this time, but I keep hearing this solemn voice in my head saying "as always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

Is it just coincidence that the woman in the bar (while Nate was leaving his 5th message) looked like Sophie, at least from the back? I was really hoping it was her there to save the day.

"Despite what you may have read, my hatred of cliffhanger finales has not changed. "The Maltese Falcon Job", part 2 of the Season 2 Finale, air this Wednesday. You will never see a hiatus-long TBC on Leverage."

Apart from B.B. King's guitar, I can't believe people are missing the obvious pun: Lucillie = Loose wheel, as in the great Kerry Rogers' ode to a ute(pickup in US lingo) "You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel".

And I COMPLETELY agree that we should call this lovely, convoluted, and torturous process of posting questions and waiting somewhat patiently for the answers as being Rogered.

Erm. Either someone needs greater exposure to non-American slang terms, or they have a truly wicked way with a metaphor.

BTW, weather-watchers, going from a blizzard to baseball weather is unusual but not entirely unheard of here in New England. Occasionally happens in December as opposed to April, too. Gotta be able to roll with the punches up here.

Think leverage is brilliant but can i ask that not only do you have commentary on the S2 DVD but also the out-takes. Watching the Japanese commercial in this weeks show, i bet the making of that alone must have been good for a few laughs. And from all the tweets and other things i have read so much fun is had on set and i am sure that there must be some classic out takes that could be shared. just sayin....

ALL the episodes were incredibly entertaining/fast paced action and cons! A winner!

Compared to the first 8 or 9 episodes,this season every character had more to "say" about who they were. The best part was when each were "relating" to Nate in their own personal style..loads of fun/emotion/pain here to explore! All done minus loads of chatter, awesome!

Didn't think I'd say it, but Tara was an excellent fit..for Nate. Makes me wonder how Tara didn't end up just a "whining/griping" new member! Really nice effort on the writing team.Tara turned out interesting,I think because she was "confused" about Nate's "code" and stuff while planning a con? Serious AND funny at the same time. Tara did her part as best she could then, and she could pull it off too!

CK seems happy..and that's good!

Question:Do you think Eliot or Hardison should drive the getaway car/van, more? Speaking of vans, any armor plated ones on the horizon for the team? Half-joking!

One thing that struck me was how completely credible Eliot was as a baseball player. I always find it jarring in baseball movies or shows when the actor is obviously not a player. I'm really curious if you just did especially good editing or if Chris is actually that good. The swings you showed were believably professional - he really looked like he knew what he was doing out there. Did Chris play in college?

I know this is really late, but I actually have been wondering -- why was Eliot/Chris's hair so fabulous in the second half of the season? I especially noticed in this episode, when he pulled off his batting helmet and his hair was shiny and bouncy and just wavy enough to look AMAZING.

Did you guys just get new hair people, or is there a story reason, or did Chris just bring in the products he uses at home, or what?

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